Legends of Tomorrow: Why the Spear of Destiny Must be Destroyed

Legends of Tomorrow season 2 is coming to an end tonight, and it promises to be an action-packed finale as we finally see the end of the Spear of Destiny. Again. As we found out in ‘Doomworld‘, the Legends are going to have to break a cardinal rule of time travel and go back in time to the moment where it all went wrong, and try to change their own history… a plan that is sure to have all kinds of unforeseen consequences.

If all goes well, however, the Legends will be able to stop the Legion of Doom from getting hold of the Spear of Destiny – the magical, reality-re-writing artifact that has been at the heart of this entire season. This time, however, they won’t let the Spear go. Instead, they will be attempting their original plan a second time; to get the Blood of Christ and use it to destroy the Spear, once and for all. (Although they may have to use it to resurrect a certain someone, first.) But why does the Spear have to be destroyed in the first place? Why can’t it just be broken apart again, or even kept by the Legion and used to do some good, instead?

With Great Power

The core reason that the Spear can’t be used for good has already been covered in the show – very simply, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Legends, although superheros, are still human and would be tempted to give in to the Spear and use it for personal gain. We even saw in ‘The Fellowship of the Spear’ that the Spear is able to tempt people with their deepest desires, because it wants to be used. Given the choice, Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) wanted to use the Spear to change history in order to save her family from pain, even though this could have a massive impact on the timeline. Every one of the Legends has lost loved ones, and keeping the Spear would inevitably end up with one of them giving in and using it for selfish reasons. There is, in fact, no-one who would be able to keep the Spear and use it only for good – if there were, that person would be a God, not a Legend.

Doomworld

Even the bad guys, who are all about using incredible power for selfish means, wanted to destroy the Spear – albeit for very different reasons. In ‘Doomworld’ we saw how the Spear turned the Legion of Doom against itself, with the members squabbling over who gets to hold the Spear and use it, even though they had already created exactly the world that they wanted. Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) was in possession of the Spear, and even he wanted to destroy it. He couldn’t risk someone getting hold of the Spear and changing the world that he had created – and this is the core issue with keeping the Spear, even if someone wanted to use it.

If the Legends could find a way to hold the Spear and use it safely, they would still need to destroy it. Otherwise, it would be a temptation for every super-criminal in time and space, all of whom want to create their own Doomworld. The fabric of reality would constantly be at risk, should anyone else get their hands on the Spear, and the Legends wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of the Spear at all times. Destroying it is the only way to keep reality truly safe (except from other time travelers, of course!).

Telling The Best Story

Beyond the plot-based reasons to destroy the Spear, there is a very practical reason that it needs to happen for the show – if the Legends have absolute power over reality, it wouldn’t be as much fun to watch! Season 1 of the series saw the Legends battle the Time Masters, season 2 has been about the Legion, and both seasons also see the team travelling through time to fix ‘aberrations’. If they had the Spear, there would be no reason to do any of these things. No time travel, no battling the bad guys, just grab the Spear, fix the problem, and have a beer on the Waverider. It would make the Legends’ life easier, but conflict is far more entertaining.

Indestructible Issues

Of course, destroying the Spear is no easy task – which is why Rip (Arthur Darvill) had to break it up and spread the pieces across time and space in the first place. As it stands, there are two ways to destroy the Spear. Eobard Thawne used Professor Stein (Victor Garber) to build a machine capable of doing it in Doomworld, but it is unlikely that this is going to be used a second time in the finale. Instead, the Legends are probably going to be saving the Blood of Christ, which made the Spear powerful in the first place, and so is the only thing capable of destroying the Spear as well. In ‘Fellowship of the Spear’, they found the blood and lost the Spear at the same time, so it’s going to be this key moment that the Legends have to change in order to regain the Spear, erase Doomworld, and then destroy it once and for all.

Breaking The Rules

What all of this means is that fans are in for an exciting season finale tonight with ‘Aruba’. The Legends absolutely have to destroy the Spear, and they are going to have to recover it and the Blood of Christ in order to do so. They are also going to have to convince their earlier counterparts that they aren’t impostors, find a way to un-do the tragic death of Amaya, and do it all while avoiding the Legion. It’s a tall order, even for our favorite time-travelling team.

There is little doubt that the Legends will be able to do at least some of this, of course. There’s a question mark hanging over Amaya’s head, but the bigger question is how their rule-breaking plan is going to affect the team in season 3. What will happen when they go back to their own history, and deep into the realm of time paradoxes? Will Amaya simply fade back into being if the Legends wipe out the future in which she died? Will Stein regain his memory in the same way? Can they clean up their own mess, and keep the team intact? Is Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) back for good? And once the Spear is destroyed, how is the Legion going to react?

Legends of Tomorrow season 2 concludes Tuesday, April 4 with ‘Aruba’ at 8pm on The CW.